’Tis the season for holiday specials, so why not bring some of the magic to your roleplaying game campaigns as well? Using an existing holiday from your game’s setting or crafting a new holiday of your own can provide a fun change of pace for the campaign, lend a sense of verisimilitude to the game world, and help your players celebrate the season in a unique way. The Reason for the Season Holidays come about for many different reasons. Cultures mark transitions that are meaningful to them, be they the changing of the seasons or years or the progression through...

It’s never been a better time to be a geek, and now you can even get your nerd on while working out! Geek-tastic versions of yoga classes featuring such fandoms as Harry Potter, Dungeons & Dragons, and The Legend of Zelda are cropping up at major pop culture conventions and in cities across the U.S. At these classes, you can cast off a Dementor with a wand and Warrior II, or channel the power of the Triforce in Triangle Pose. No matter your ability level or body type, you can pursue wellness while meeting others with similar interests. I caught up with Justine...

Your players have sent you their character info for your next campaign and, as their game master, you want to incorporate their backstory elements, but you’re not sure where to start. Here’s how to break down their histories into managable pieces and utilize them throughout your campaign in a way that resonates with players. Create Obstacles Between the Characters and Their Goals One of the ways to make an RPG campaign that truly engages players is to craft a story that features their goals as subplots, sidequests, or even the central story arc. First, however, you...

Last weekend, NerdCon: Stories came to Minneapolis to celebrate storytelling in all its forms. As a featured guest, I got to give a talk about narrative structure in my favorite medium for telling stories: tabletop roleplaying games. Ever since I discovered tabletop RPGs, I knew I wanted to be a game master. I wanted to be the person on the other side of the screen, the one who devises the adventures and portrays the world to the players. Coming as I did from a fiction-writing background, I thought it would be a pretty easy switch: I could use everything I’d learned...

If you’re like most game masters, you probably got your start running dungeon crawls. But after a dozen or so sessions, when the player characters are ready to emerge from the darkness and step into the limelight of society, the skills you’ve used to run dungeons don’t quite translate to court scenes. Crafting a compelling social encounter is a different challenge, but with a little bit of practice and preparation, you can add Game of Thrones–style intrigue to your tabletop RPG sessions. Read more at Geek &...

Are you gearing up to run a new RPG campaign this fall? Do you need to get a better handle on your long-running game? Let us help you choose the campaign management option that best suits your group’s needs and your personal prep style. Read more at Geek &...

Triple Crit is a blog for storytellers of all sorts, be they behind the GM screen, keyboard, or character sheet. Here you can find articles and advice on campaign management, adventure design, character development, writing, and geek culture.

The author, Katrina Ostrander, is a twenty-something gamer chick, game master, and blogger working in the tabletop games industry for Fantasy Flight Games. In addition to her work as an editor of tie-in fiction, she has worked on nearly a dozen roleplaying game adventures and supplements. Her opinions are her own.